Week 19 - Battipaglia - 4/20/2015

Well this week was pretty awesome. We saw alot of progress with our investigators which was a huge miracle. The spirit was working on peoples hearts hard this week as we uncovered alot of hidden thoughts this week that had been holding people back. We have people we have been working with for weeks and weeks and they werent progressing or changing and we couldnt figure out why and then this week they finally told us and everything became so much more clear!! it was really amazing. 

One of the biggest miracles we saw was that one of our english course students is praying and reading the scriptures. It is difficult to describe the level of "miracleness" that this entails but seriously. When we first met him he didnt listen to the spirtiual thoughts at english course, and hadn't been to church or prayed in years. Then just recently he passed a really big exam because he is studying to become a lawyer and he has to take another one so ALL HE DOES IS STUDY. We told him that if he prayed and read the scriptures that Heavenly Father would bless him and he would find more peace But we called him the other day and he was like Sisters I pray every evening and im reading the bible!! and we were like WHAT???? that's awesome! and he was like "is it good? is that right? i think its helps" and we were like "ya thats great!! You could also read the book of mormon"...... and he was like "okay i will try it." EEEK. it was so happy. 

Then yesterday we did a jesso which is basically us standing in the piazza trying to talk to people as they walk by. So after two hours of this and alot of "nos" and "we're catholics".. and a couple finger wags at me.. and then all of this.. we were packing up and this woman that i had talked to a couple weeks ago at another Jesso who told me that she sees sorella Argyle and i walking and she appreciates that we are always just happy and smiling, walked by and bacced me and then was like "are you staying?, you said you might leave soon," and i was like "no were staying here" and she was like "oh good!" and then she walked away.. and this might seem so small and insignificant but it really was a tender mercy from the lord to have someone who i was important to, or even just that said hello to me. It was so so happy! I have a friend!!! :) 

I was studying the Holy Ghost this week and found this talk from James E. Faust from October 1999 General Conference and he said that the Holy Ghost is one of the greatest sources of Hope that we can find from outside of ourselves. I had never thought of the Holy Ghost as a source of Hope but he really is. President Faust also talked about how we either live in hope or we work in despair and it just really hit me how important hope is in our everyday lives. That's why a knowledge of the savior and his love for us is so important. Sometimes it is the comfort and knowledge from the Holy Ghost that is what keeps us from the working in despair to pushing through with hope. 

:) 

Sorella Kennedy

Sorella Argyle and I will be together for another transfer!! yay!

Our English Students Michele and Jean Luca

Week 18 - Battipaglia - 4/13/2015

Wellllll!!! This week was transfer calls and what do you know... Im staying in Battipaglia with Sorella Argyle! I will have been with my trainer for 6 months after this transfer! But its all good because Sorella Arygle is the best and we have work to do here. We love battipaglia and its people. Seroiusly. We heard our MTC teachers tell us that Italy has their heart. I can most certainly tell you that Battipaglia, well more the people in Battipaglia have a special place in my heart and i think that when i leave (one day) they might take part of my heart with them too. This week was pretty low key! We went on a a scambio to Pozzuoli and it was so fun! I got to be with Sorella Sanchez and then Sorella Argyle stayed in Battipaglia with Sorella Thorpe. Pozzuoli was Beautiful as always. We got to teach a lesson to this man that the sorelle had found a couple weeks ago who is SO ready for the gospel and just loves everything they teach him. Its super neat. He said that he had started praying and that everything was so much better and he felt so much more at peace. Its was a huge blessing for me to get to see someone so ready for the gospel because here we have just met no one like that... haha Well this week I ended up reading alot about how the gospel brings us happiness and I just want to say that it really true does. It is through the knowledge that we have of the gospel and a Savior who loves us that we find the most happiness and peace we have in this life. One of our english course students told us that in 5 years what he wants most is peace of mind and I just was struck by this and began thinking what would that be like. But then i realized that when we know the gospel we have that blessing with us all the time. We are able to be comforted through prayer, the study of the scriptures and church. We can pray and be forgiven of our mistakes so we are not burdened by guilt, we are promised life eternal with our families and loved ones, and so much more. It is such a wonderful gift this gospel and the happiness and love it brings for us. That's one of the best things about being a missionary is the things that you tell people and the message you have, you know what kind of eternal and ultimate happiness it can bring. I thank heavenly father all the time for the privilege it is to share what I know to be true with others and to know the blessings it brings. 

Sorella Kennedy      
some more:

ahaha ahh good times. 

Okay for my scripture reading i finished the book of mormon(good news its still true) and then at zone conference this last transfer we got challenged to read the Book of Mormon in 65 days which is the same time line that Joseph Smith translated them so I started again this last week and im in 2nd Nephi :) Also i started reading the teaching of the prophets manuel and the one I have is President Bensons so i've been reading that and its super awesome. Its really cool to get to read just like the straight up teachings of the prophets because in a way they are kind of like scripture! so thats been fun. 

Okay simp(simp is investigator in italian... its short for simpatizzante:) 

well we have this old man named Gerardo who is like 70 and is super funny. we get to teach him in english because he lived in England when he was young and prefers for us to teach him in english. He is really cool because he just really understands what we teach him and goes home and thinks about all the things that we tell him. He's really turned a corner this last week and has a strong desire to know if what we tell him is true. So thats awesome. 

Then theres pasquale who is super busy because hes always studying but when we do get to meet with him he's awesome. 

Week 17- Battipaglia - 4/6/2015

Well this week was pretty great!! Let me tell you a little bit about easter Italy style 

Well Saturday in the streets of Battipaglia there was what is called a Procession...This basically all of Battipaglia walking the streets in a parade singing/saying the catholic prayers and the priests in their outfits and then like 2 giant statues on like platforms being carried by people, one of Christ bloody and laying on a tomb, and then the other of Mother Mary in like this extravegant gown. It was...interesting. haha Never had I felt like my name tag was so big as when i was walking with Sorella Argyle and  the anziani, in the opposite direction to go home as maybe 10,000 people walked along with this procession in the other direction. It was nuts. 

Then it was Easter and General Conference!! :) Wooooooo. General Conference was incredible!!!! It is so amazing to be able to be a part of a church that has Christ at its head. You can not listen to the words those inspired men spoke yesterday and not know that they are called of God and that they are different from the world.They are the representatives of Christ on the earth and it is such a privilege and a blesssing to listen to their words. We also got invited to go to Pranzo at this english course students house and his wife. They cooked us so much food!!! oh my gosh. But it was super delicious and great and they were really happy to have us there. Then we went and finished watching conference. :) Then monday... is what italians call pasquetta and what missionaries call deep cleaning day. So our branch had planned a pasquetta activity where everyone basically comes together and eats and plays games. So we had planned on going after 6 when deep cleaning was over and we were in charge of the spiritual thought. But we got a call from the girl (shes 22) whos in charge of it and she was like the only people coming are the people you invited from english course... none of the branch will be here, can you come? And we were like uhh... okay. So we went over there and for the first 2/3 hours we cleaned the outside of the church because it was a mess.... seriously. weeds like as tall as my hips or maybe elbows. it was so incredible that our english course students just like buckled down and cleaned our church! they were weeding and digging and sweeping and it was just so incredible that they care about the missionaries and the church itself because most of the ones that came are investigators that they would spend their day off to come be with us and clean. It was really neat. Then we went and got ready for the day and prepared our family home evening and then came back and played games with them and then shared a sprititual thought about how our divine potentail and the knowledge of the atonement. It was super cool. We had an english course student come who is kind of atheist but he brought his dad with him and they hung out the whole day and he and sorella argyle talked for a long time about the gospel. It was overall just a super neat and beautiful experience to have had. 

regarding a question i asked her about food: The best things that we have found in italy are... pizza (oh my gosh its so amazing), bread(we have to avoid this but when we get it man its good), and certain pastries, and gnocci. :))))) But we dont love eating at peoples houses because.. Italians make you eat SOOOOOOO much food. Seriously. The meals go like this. You have an opener of enough pasta to feed 2 people. then you have meat and like potatoes. then you have cheese and bread. then you have fruit. then you have dessert. And by this time you just feel so full of food that you can't walk and also its not even yummy anymore..... haha but usually the pasta is super super buono!!!! (yummy) so ya thats food. 

Conference was soooooo good!!!!! Elder holland and Anjiano utchdorf man they brought the house down!!! what did you think of sorella Wixoms talk?? I liked it a lot. 

Week 16 - Battipaglia - 3/30/2015

This week was super awesome! We talked to SOO many people because we have been trying to apply what we learned at zone conference and talk to everyone. Its been pretty neat. We just talked to alot of people and were really blessed for it. All of our numbers doubled this week, and we got 2 new simps (investigators)  and picked up 2 old ones of the other sorelle. So that was cool. 

I never thought i would have to deal with this in Italy but one of our investigators wont listen to anything we have to say about the church because a woman is not the prophet. Literally thats all he talks about. We just like don't know what to do because he can't find the truth in anything else because he is so fixated on that.

Oh something cool, on palm saturday people buy olive branches and flowers just like in the painting of jesus where they are laying down leaves and flowers while the savior is on a donkey. i thought that was super cool. and then that man that plays the organ for us who is not a member brought us this huge olive branch as a gift from his catholic church to ours. haha it was cool.